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<img width="178" height="53" src="cid:A0229111-7EC5-4E89-9947-A616F823BA64" align="right" hspace="12" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_2" type="image/png"><span style="font-size: 15pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(40, 44, 53); letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">Democracy
and the Media in the Digital Age<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(102, 106, 115); letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">We live in uncertain and volatile times at home and abroad, when the good health of our democracy has never been more important to the quality
of governance and the well-being of the Australian people. In the aftermath of the July election, as a Coalition government with a single seat majority settles in and One Nation-style populism makes a comeback, QUT's <a href="http://www.qut.edu.au/research/dmrc" target="_blank" style="color: purple;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 161, 238);">Digital
Media Research Centre</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>invites you to a public debate on the future of Australian democracy in the digital era.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(102, 106, 115); letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">Join distinguished guests Professor John Keane of Sydney University (<em>The Life and Death of Democracy</em>, 2009), Amy Remeikis (Political
Editor, Fairfax Queensland), David Fagan (former State Editorial Director, NewsCorp, and Adjunct Professor at Queensland University of Technology), Liz Minchin (Queensland Editor,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em>The Conversation</em>), Paul
Lucas (former Deputy Premier of Queensland), and Amanda Gearing (Walkley award winning journalist and author of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><em>The Torrent: Toowoomba and the Lockyer Valley</em>) to discuss how digital technology is impacting
on our democratic process and the media which support it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(102, 106, 115); letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">Have the rise of the Internet and social media strengthened our democracy, or made it chaotic and unruly? Has the culture of the hashtag and
Facebook helped to engage people in politics, or strengthened the voice of demagogues such as Donald Trump? Are the established print and broadcast media losing their authority and influence as online voices and sources of news proliferate? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(102, 106, 115); letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">Join us to discuss these and other key questions of our time:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(69, 73, 78); letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">Thursday, September 15, 2016 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM (AEST), <br>
State Library of Queensland - Auditorium 2 on level 2 Stanley Place, South Brisbane, QLD 4101</span><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(102, 106, 115); letter-spacing: 0.4pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(102, 106, 115); letter-spacing: 0.4pt;">Register now: <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/digital-democracy-symposium-tickets-26994766072" style="color: purple;">https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/digital-democracy-symposium-tickets-26994766072</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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